Council briefs residents on planned Springford Road closures, PennDOT dispute over curbing and sidewalks

Borough engineers and staff told Clifton Heights Borough Council they expect a multi-month Springford Road construction sequence that will include temporary road closures and is the subject of a design dispute with PennDOT and the local school district.

The borough said the contractor wants to close Springford Road between points near Oak Avenue for heavy-equipment work rather than use flaggers, and residents inside the closure would still be able to enter and exit. Engineers said they are negotiating with PennDOT and the school district about whether inlets can be installed without curbing along curves south of Sycamore Road to Baltimore Pike.

Why it matters: The closure is intended to speed construction and reduce the duration of flagger-controlled traffic; borough staff said the work will still inconvenience residents but is designed to limit longer-term disruption. The curb/sidewalk dispute affects drainage and flood mitigation design near a school corridor and will be decided with PennDOT District 6 and consultants.

Details from council: The engineer said the closure will be advertised with at least two weeks’ notice to affected residents and that the police department will staff barricades (costs to be back-charged to the contractor). Borough staff said the area north of Sycamore is wide enough for single-lane flagging but the segment near houses is too narrow. “We believe that above Sycamore, it's kind of wide enough that they could use flag men 1 lane at a time,” the engineer said, and added negotiations with PennDOT are ongoing.

Next steps: Borough staff and consultants plan a meeting with PennDOT District 6 to resolve the inlet/curbing approach and will continue resident notification. Council did not take a formal vote on the design dispute at the meeting.